


Five Foot Three

by akuli



Series: The “Everyone’s Herobrine” AU [4]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fluff and Humor, a lot of the folks tagged are mentioned, literally a sprinkle, the first non angst-driven work in this series lads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:34:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29108631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akuli/pseuds/akuli
Summary: fun fact: the title of the doc for this fic was “the captain and his duckling.” very hesitantly dedicated to sy, who i’m only not gifting this to because at the moment, i absolutely despise this one. however, title’s taken from the flannel graph song that slaps ans reminds me of parenting :)nevertheless, here’s some soft to make up for all that hurt/comfort i write.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: The “Everyone’s Herobrine” AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098080
Kudos: 11





	Five Foot Three

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: the title of the doc for this fic was “the captain and his duckling.” very hesitantly dedicated to sy, who i’m only not gifting this to because at the moment, i absolutely despise this one. however, title’s taken from the flannel graph song that slaps ans reminds me of parenting :)
> 
> nevertheless, here’s some soft to make up for all that hurt/comfort i write.

“ _Captain_!”

Jordan looks away from Kara just in time for Tubbo to collide with him. 

“ Tubbo!” Kara catches him as he stumbles, briefly, returning his grateful look with a thumbs up and joining Puffy in herding a curious Pete away. The kid’s arms are looped around his waist by now, and he doesn’t seem to want to move, but that’s alright with Jordan, to be honest. He missed Tubbo more than he’ll openly admit with his teammate’s eyes still on him, although they’ve put a distance between themselves to not seem as if they're actively eavesdropping. 

He ruffles Tubbo’s already messy hair, which earns him a headbutt, that doesn’t necessarily hurt, but is certainly a new, surprising mannerism he’s never seen Tubbo display before, “ Hey, kiddo! How’s your first MCC treating you?”

“ It’s great!” Tubbo’s smile is so genuine and wide that Jordan can partially see it even with his face pressed just barely below where Jordan’s hoodie stops, not to mention near it in his voice, “ I miss Tommy. But it’s so fun, so far.”

“ While you’re here, actually,” His accent bleeds into that word in particular, _actually_ , as he releases Jordan in favor of gesturing towards the smooth stone that lines the path of the spawn, “ … could you maybe give me some advice?”

“ I can try?” He pulls his communicator down from where it hovers idly, typing out a message to Kara to fill him in on any strategies his team talks about in his short absence, “ I’ve never been good at people things, kid.”

“ Okay so,” Tubbo starts, feet beginning to pick up speed as they get comfortable,“ well, I guess I should preface. Do you know Eret?”

“ By association,” Jordan responds. He’s never been properly invited to Dream’s realm, but his oldest friends were some of the first ones to inform him of the somewhat worrying tales of the smp, some of which, he makes a mental note, he’d like a more firsthand account of, to make sure Tubbo isn’t in the danger he’s heard about, “ I know he’s your friend, and that’s honestly all I need.”

“ Aww, Captain,” Jordan has to physically turn away from him for a few seconds, because the way Tubbo says his name alone makes Jordan’s ache in a way he didn’t think was possible before he met Tubbo, “ uh, but, anyways. So, they have white eyes, like Herobrine, right?”

“ Tubbo, kiddo, I love you, but I have absolutely no idea where you’re going with this,” He deadpans. It’s not quite a lie- he genuinely has no idea what Tubbo’s building up to, but he’s got an idea, and he doesn’t particularly _want_ to be proven right. 

“ Just,” Tubbo shifts in the position he’s sitting, bringing his legs up, intertwining them in a pretzel shape and leaning into Jordan’s space, “ okay, so he’s got white eyes, right? Which like, I was a bit worried for his health when he first showed us, but here’s the thing,” Tubbo meets Jordan’s eyes, and there’s a determination that he recognizes, and finds a bit intimidating in them, “ so, the other day, she took her glasses off in front of Tommy, right?” 

“ … okay?”

“ Captain,” Tubbo says, flat for the most part, but with a touch of exasperation, “ he wasn’t mean about it.”

“ Is he… usually?”

“ Have you _met_ Tommy?”

“ Point taken,” Jordan replies, “ I’m not seeing what the issue is, though.”

“ The issue is that he wasn’t mean about it!” Tubbo says, and there's an irritation at the edge of his incredulous statement that results in a look from Jordan that’s not quite a surprise. Tubbo pauses, breathing a bit heavily before he continues, “ Captain, Tommy’s…” Tubbo stops himself again, before continuing with a bit of condescension in certain words that makes Jordan want to laugh, “ dramatic. Let’s go with that. He didn’t make a single joke about it. That’s _weird_.”

“ … kid, I’m going to be honest here,” Jordan shifts where he’s sitting so that he can look directly into Tubbo’s eyes, “ I’m not sure how I’m meant to help you with this one.”

“ You’re the Captain!” Tubbo must not realize how loud he’s being, because he looks sheepish when the members of other teams eye’s linger, if only for a second, as they jog by, on the search for whatever themed surprises the admins have left scattered around the map. Tubbo’s attention is back on Jordan when most of them have passed, “ c’mon, man, you gotta give me _something_.”

It’s only the desperate plea that’s poorly hidden in Tubbo’s attempt to be i for all with his words that gets Jordan to entertain thoughts he’d rather leave in the past. “ Have you considered the possibility,” Jordan offers, despite the part of him that cowers, away from a theory he’s now fairly sure is correct, “ that he’s met someone like that before?”

“ Like Eret? In what way?”

“ The glowing eyes, Tubbo.”

“ Oh!” He replies, like he’s just learned something extraordinary. It’s one of the many things Jordan has grown to love about the kid; how he, intentionally or not, makes people feel special for telling a story they’ve likely repeated a thousand times,” I mean. I guess that would make sense? But,” Tubbo goes quiet, and when he speaks again, he sounds like Jordan imagines betrayal would if he remembers how it felt, “ I don’t understand, why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“ ...you like history, right?”

“ I guess?”

“ Why don’t you find me after all this is over,” Jordan says, clasping Tubbo’s shoulder briefly as he moved to stand, “ and I might be able to answer you.”

“ Captain,” Tubbo protests as he stands, “ why can’t you just tell me now?”

“ It’s a long story, kiddo.”

“ That’s a bit cliché of you, Captain,” Tubbo declares, and he looks so pleased with himself that Jordan can’t be held responsible for the way he leans over and messes with the boy’s hair.

“ Alright, if you’re so smart,” Jordan says after he manages to wrestle Tubbo away, “ I’ll find you during Dogebolt then?”

“ You wish!”

* * *

“ Captain,” Tubbo’s approach is shy, although he knows most, if not all, of Jordan’s teammates, who are far more invested in the match going on in front of them.

“ Tubbo,” Jordan is the one to pull him into a hug this time, shorter than the last one they exchanged, but with no less intent, “ you did so well, kiddo.”

“ Thank you,” Tubbo replies with a grin. “ while you’re here, how about that story?” 

“ I had a friend, once,” Jordan starts, and something about the atmosphere changes, if only for them, “ he’s not around as much as he used to be, plays survival on his own most days, but he was one of us. Me, and Techno, and Tom, he was one of the greats, before you and Tommy and Dream.”

He looks up from where he’s purposely dropped his head, and instantly regrets it, because Tubbo looks so _genuinely_ interested. “ Anyways,” Jordan continues, looking to where some of his oldest friends are running aimlessly in circles as a distraction, “ Sky showed his friend, Pat, how to find Mianite,” He doesn’t want to look at Tubbo, but he forces himself to, glance over at his companion, who’s watching him with a curiosity that is not malicious in the slightest, “ he asked me to help Dan.”

“ Why would he ask,” and Jordan can see the moment where he figures it out, all on his own, and he looks to Jordan quickly, with a fascination that Jordan’s only ever seen in the eyes of mod testers like Pat, and that, frankly, scares him a bit, as Tubbo asks for confirmation, “ _Captain_?”

“ I’m not like either of them,” Jordan is quick to reassure, “ but I’m not like most of your friends, Tubbo. You’re a smart kid. Techno and Phil, they’re not the way they are just because they work hard,” “ the fact that Wil’s _alive_ defies the natural laws of any realm, much less Dream’s.”

“ What I’m trying say,” Jordan hopes the emphasis comes through in his voice, although he’s never been quiet good at being dramatic, not like Tom, “ is that I’ve seen immortality, and it’s never anything but a curse,” He reaches for Tubbo’s hands, and the latter allows him to do so, although he’s still very clearly in shock, from the way his mouth, quite literally, hangs open, “ so be gentle with Tommy, okay?”

“ I will,” Tubbo says, after a minute of tense silence where Jordan has absolutely no clue what else to say, “ I will. Thank you for telling me, Captain.”

“ It’s no problem, Tubbo,” Jordan replies, “ tell Tommy I said hi.”

“ I will!”

Tubbo bounds off and Jordan can only assume he’s going to find his aforementioned best friend. Kara glances over at him, a question in her eyes that he dismisses with a wave, although the way her gaze is only pulled away by Puffy’s excited chatter leads him to believe he’s going to be having a rather unpleasant conversation on his end when they return to the realm.

“ Oh, Dan,” Jordan says, turning his eyes to the court, although he’s not thinking of the game in the slightest, “ what did you do _this_ time.”


End file.
